VIDEO OF THE WEEK

PRIMAL SCREAM: DON'T FIGHT IT, FEEL IT

Dreadful news just in from the No Static At All musical universe with the announcement of Denise Johnson's passing, after a short illness, at the terribly young age of 56. Denise was a legendary figure in the Mancunian music scene over the last thirty years or so but came to prominence most notably for her astounding vocal work on the seminal Primal Scream opus 'Screamadelica' as well as it's less celebrated - but still rather fine - follow-up 'Give Up But Don't Give Out'. Her rich, gospel influenced voice was a superb counterpart to the wracked and damaged singing of the elegantly wasted Scream front-man Bobby Gillespie. Her vocals on the 1991 banger 'Don't Fight It, Feel It' - as shown below - elevated the already blissful track into something else entirely. She was a member of the Primals for the wild, crazy and hedonistic first five years of the nineties before leaving to pursue other projects. These included work with Ian Brown, Bernard Butler, Michael Hutchence, Pet Shop Boys and New Order, as well as her lengthy stint as touring vocalist for the cult Mancunian combo A Certain Ratio. Her stand-out moments for me though are her extraordinary vocal on the 94 Primal Scream track 'Free' - a tour de force of soulful gospel, drenched in emotion - and her euphoric outro on the magisterial 'Get The Message' by Electronic, the project put together by her dear friends Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, and which could well be one the greatest songs of the 90's. She had also been recently working on her debut solo album - a collection of acoustic versions of classic Manchester tracks - which is due for release later in the year. Gregarious, full of fun and laughter and with an undying love for Manchester City football club, Denise was highly respected, hugely loved and will be sorely missed.